BISHKEK: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed Ankara would pursue non-dollar transactions in trade with Russia and other countries, accusing the US of behaving like “wild wolves.”
Both Turkey and Russia are reeling from punitive economic measures imposed by Washington.
“America behaves like wild wolves. Don’t believe them,” Erdogan told a business forum during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, in comments translated into Kyrgyz.
He said his country was in negotiations with Russia over non-dollar trade.
“Using the dollar only damages us. We will not give up. We will be victorious,” Erdogan told the meeting, attended by Kyrgyz and Turkish businessmen as well as government officials.
Ties between NATO members Washington and Ankara hit a new low last month as US President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum in response to the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.
The Turkish lira shed a quarter of its value last month as the trade war with the US ratcheted up.
Russia meanwhile saw its ruble tumble to two-year lows in August after the US announced fresh sanctions in connection with a nerve agent poisoning incident in the British city of Salisbury.
Erdogan has also used the visit to ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan to demand the Central Asian country of six million people relinquish all ties to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric and educator Ankara accuses of fomenting a coup in 2016.
Speaking Sunday, Erdogan said Turkish businesses should invest in Kyrgyzstan but “may face barriers from FETO,” the term Ankara uses to describe the network of people and institutions linked to Gulen.
The refusal of the United States to extradite 77-year-old Gulen to face trial in Turkey is one of several sore points that have plagued a once-strong bilateral relationship.
Gulen, whose Hizmet movement has led to the creation of schools in dozens of countries including Kyrgyzstan has always denied any links to the 2016 coup attempt.
Since July 2016, over 55,000 people have been arrested over coup links in Turkey, while more than 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked or suspended.
Turkey calls US ‘wild wolves’, vows to abandon dollar in trade
Turkey calls US ‘wild wolves’, vows to abandon dollar in trade
Aoun slams ‘systematic policy of aggression’ as Israeli strikes kill 2, wound journalists in south Lebanon escalation
- Lebanese Army: Attacks terrorize civilians and hinder weapons control plan
- Israeli army spokesperson said military eliminated Abu Ali Salameh, who served as a Hezbollah liaison officer in the area
- Israeli drones targeted sites with heavy airstrikes, wounding journalists in Qanarit and destroying their equipment, cameras and vehicles
BEIRUT: Two people were killed and several journalists wounded in a series of Israeli attacks on Wednesday targeting southern areas, most of which lie north of the Litani River.
The Lebanese Army Command described the escalation as “impeding the army’s efforts and hindering the completion of its plan to confine weapons to Lebanese territory.” It said that the strikes terrorized civilians, caused deaths and injuries, displaced dozens of families and undermined regional stability.
The day’s security situation was dominated by hours of Israeli escalation, including airstrikes and evacuation warnings targeting villages and populated areas ahead of further bombardment.
The Israeli army said that warplanes carried out precision strikes on civilian vehicles in Bazouriyeh, killing a Hezbollah member. A separate drone strike hit a civilian vehicle on the Zahrani-Mseileh road, killing one person, with Israel claiming the target was another Hezbollah operative.
Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee said that the military “eliminated Abu Ali Salameh, who served as a Hezbollah liaison officer” in the village of Yanouh, in southern Lebanon. He accused Salameh of managing Hezbollah activities to “enable the group to operate within civilian areas and on private property, and to establish terrorist infrastructure in the heart of populated civilian areas, through the deliberate and cynical exploitation of the residents to serve Hezbollah’s objectives.”
Adraee claimed that on Dec. 13, Israel alerted Lebanon’s enforcement mechanism about a Hezbollah weapons depot in Yanouh. Salameh allegedly relayed the notification to other Hezbollah members, who then blocked Lebanese army access by staging a gathering while removing weapons from the site.
He said that Salameh also coordinated with the Lebanese army to falsely document the property as weapons-free, even as “suspicious boxes” were removed via a back entrance. Adraee called these actions a violation of Israel-Lebanon understandings, adding that “the Israeli army will continue to take measures to eliminate all threats.”
Israeli artillery also shelled the Harmoun area in the Bint Jbeil district, south of the Litani River, prompting Israeli army warnings — complete with maps — for residents of Qanarit, Kfour in Nabatieh and Jarjouh to evacuate immediately.
Israeli drones then hammered the sites with heavy airstrikes, wounding journalists in Qanarit and destroying their equipment, cameras and vehicles.
The Press Photographers Syndicate said: “Israeli claims of maintaining safe distances offer no protection, just as the warnings issued by the enemy to civilians offer no protection. It seems that cameras are not a red line.”
The statement urged photojournalists “to exercise caution and avoid turning their professional commitment into a reckless gamble.”
Civilians in the targeted areas reported receiving phone calls from Israel ordering them to clear squares, residential neighborhoods and a mosque.
The Lebanese Army Command confirmed that “Israeli attacks and violations targeted civilian buildings and homes in several areas, most recently in villages in the south, in a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and security, the cessation of hostilities agreement, and UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun issued a statement on Wednesday evening condemning the strikes and accused Tel Aviv of “pursuing a systematic policy of aggression” that targeted civilians and violated international humanitarian law, and constituted “a dangerous escalation.”
“This repeated aggressive behavior proves Israel’s refusal to abide by its commitments under the cessation of hostilities agreement and reflects a deliberate disregard for the efforts exerted by the Lebanese state to control the situation on the ground, maintain stability, and prevent the escalation of the confrontation,” he said.
He called on the international community — particularly the agreement’s sponsors — “to assume their legal and political responsibilities and take clear and effective measures to stop these violations and put an end to the policy of impunity.”
The escalation also came as Aoun reaffirmed his commitment to “monopolizing weapons in the hands of the state throughout all Lebanese territory.”
At a meeting of the Higher Supervisory Committee for Lebanon’s border protection program — attended by the US and Canadian ambassadors — Army Commander Gen. Rudolph Haykal stressed the army’s “absolute commitment” to securing borders but called for “qualitative military support” to tackle challenges on the northern and eastern fronts.
The army said that the ambassadors praised “its professionalism and success,” stressing the need to bolster the military institution to enhance its ability to maintain security nationwide. Lebanese military units are currently securing the northern and eastern borders with Syria to combat smuggling, weapons transfers and illegal infiltration.
